Marie of Anjou was promised to her future husband Charles at an early age and both were raised together in Anjou and Provence. It was in the troubled context of the Hundred Years' War that their marriage was celebrated in Bourges in 1422, Paris being occupied by the English.
Crowned king in 1429, it would take several years for Charles VII to reconquer his kingdom. Although discreet, the queen played an important political role and the king did not hesitate to entrust her with the reins of government when he went on campaign.
The king did not reside permanently with his family. He had several official mistresses who succeeded one another at the Court. The first and most famous was Agnès Sorel, nineteen years his junior. She was close to Jacques Coeur and was also involved in the governance of the kingdom.
In 1454, the queen retired to the fortress of Chinon without her husband who had donated the lordship and the castle to her. She embellished it by having many works done. She was then fifty years old and had given birth to fourteen children, including the last two in Chinon, Charles and Madeleine.